Literary Latest Topicshttps://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/80-literary/Literary Latest TopicsenFall MFA 2018https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/97749-fall-mfa-2018/
It's a new season for applying MFA! I didn't find a post about 2018 programs so I started one here. Any thoughts/questions are welcomed to discuss together.

I just started to consider applying MFA in creative writing for the next year, but immediately overwhelmed by the numbers of schools provided such programs. I feel I have difficulties in narrowing down to under 5. My current question: is it totally ok to ask recommendation letters for maybe about 6-8 schools? Both professors I'm about to ask help I haven't talked with like almost a year... Feel very burdened to ask help if I'm about to ask his letters go for 8 schools.

Thanks.

]]>97749Fri, 06 Oct 2017 22:03:19 +0000Applying for PhD in Creative Writinghttps://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/103328-applying-for-phd-in-creative-writing/
So... my ultimate goal is to attend a PhD program in Creative Writing. This year, I applied to various MFA programs because although I have a Master's degree already it is in Clinical Counseling. So far, I've been accepted to 5 programs, my two favorites being North Carolina Wilmington and the Stonecoast Program in Maine. Former is a full residency program that is considered one of the most innovative programs in the country (but otherwise, I believe it is only a mid-tier program), Stonecoast at Southern Maine U is a top ten low residency program. My questions is this: would it hurt my chances of getting into a decent PhD Creative Writing program that my MFA is from a (well respected) low residency program? I have to choose between these two programs soon and the PhD suitability is an important factor for me to consider. Thank you for the insight!
]]>103328Sun, 18 Mar 2018 11:41:45 +0000MFA Creative Writing Acceptance/Rejection Lettershttps://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/99888-mfa-creative-writing-acceptancerejection-letters/
I know letters are usually not sent out until March. However, I've heard stories about people who received acceptance letters as early as January/February. Please post your experience - thank you!
]]>99888Sat, 06 Jan 2018 04:38:43 +00002018 Hollins MFAhttps://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/103151-2018-hollins-mfa/
Hello. Just wanted to create a little space for dialogue in case anyone else is considering this program.
]]>103151Thu, 15 Mar 2018 16:12:05 +0000https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/101494-dealing-with-rejections-the-process/
Is anyone else struggling this season? Because this whole process has me racing headfirst into the flaming sun of struggle, self-doubt, and what--the-hell-was-I-thinking.

I know we've still got a decent stretch of time from now to the end of results, but I'm already feeling an uncomfortable dissonance between what all "this" is - the MFA application process, the weird tense social networks that have risen up in response to it - and the magic of writing, of thinking I am a "writer", of wanting to be a part of "the writing world".

And it's not just the rejections. Not really. Of course, the rejections are hard, even when I think I'm mentally prepared for it. I mean, I knew exactly the odds of this crazy race, right? MFA programs are the most selective graduate programs out there. Someone told me before this process began that by the time the whole thing was finished, it would feel as much like entering a lottery as submitting work for fair judgment. But it's still miserable to keep hearing no, even considering that it's not necessarily because my quality wasn't up to snuff (but it could have been not quite up to snuff, that could have been it) or that I don't have potential (I very well could not have potential, my life dream might be a delusion, who knows) or that my style isn't what they were looking for this year (and might not be what they're looking for next year, or the year after that, or) or some other uncontrollable factor I have no part in as a writer who wrote a thing and asked to be accepted based on the thing. Even knowing all that, and knowing that the cycle of rejection is part of the life of any artist in the world today and I probably should buck the hell up and get used to it, it's pretty discouraging.

So, yeah. I don't know if I'm alone in this, but I'm failing spectacularly at not taking this personally. I'm having a really tough time separating what writing has given me all this time - the feeling that I am alive when I write - and this system. Even with all that rational thought and the statistics in front of me, my overly sensitive ass is over here taking it personally and doubting myself left and right. It doesn't matter how we're supposed to be taking these rejections on paper, because I'm still up in my head wondering how I thought I was going to make this work. What's wrong with my work? What's wrong with me? Am I actually good at writing? Do I have potential? What was I not "enough" of to not make it into this program? What was I "too much" of? Am I ready to commit to the struggle of trying to make it in writing without going through the MFA trajectory? Can I do this for however many more years without having a nervous breakdown? That last one was slight hyperbole. Slight. But you get the idea.

All that said, I know this week is when most of the big guns start firing, and I've heard back from a few (I'm sure you can guess what they said). Even if there is a silver lining to all this, the meantime has been pretty awful and I feel like a total weakling for letting any of this bother me. So:

Is anyone else having a hard time this season?

What are you doing to not internalize all the rejection?

How do you reconcile your love of writing with not getting through the big pearly gates of literary career heaven?

]]>101494Wed, 21 Feb 2018 19:06:10 +0000Weekend Resultshttps://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/101673-weekend-results/
Hey everyone!
I've seen some results going up - it looks like some people are hearing back from their schools on weekends? This is my first round of applications, so I had just kind of assumed emails/phone calls would only happen during business hours! Does anyone know otherwise?

I graduated this year (BS Biology) and I intend to pursue lit ahead. Studied literature at O/A levels and even at university. Is it a good idea to apply abroad for Literature Masters and which funded programs can I look into?

I'm wondering if anyone can recommend creative nonfiction MFA programs (or faculty) that have a focus on reportage, as I'm told that most nonfiction MFAs focus on memoir or essays.

I'm a journalist and I have a specific book project in mind, which I envision as a blend of historical research, reportage, and memoir. I'm hoping to find programs that can help me learn the craft of creative nonfiction writing properly, with the goal of producing a book by the end of the program.

I'm told that Pitt's nonfiction MFA and NYU's MA in literary reportage could be a good fit, but I'd appreciate other suggestions to broaden the pool.

Thanks!

]]>84330Fri, 04 Nov 2016 18:36:59 +0000Typo in Writing Samplehttps://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/100481-typo-in-writing-sample/
I applied to a fair amount of programs a little over a month ago and decided, out of boredom, to revisit my manuscript. (Yes, ill-advised—I know!) When I got to the third page, my heart sank. There it is! I knew it! A typo. A missed word, to be exact. The word “to”—skipped over.

This isn’t a “could-be” typo. Not something that could be chalked up to a stylistic choice. No, it’s pretty obvious.

]]>100481Thu, 25 Jan 2018 21:05:17 +0000Publishing Graduate Programshttps://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/88151-publishing-graduate-programs/
For the life of me, I can't find any thread or forum that relates specifically to the publishing programs out there. This is the place where I think it would fit best, but let me know if I'm wrong.

I've applied to Simon Fraser's MPUB program, Portland State's Writing MA with a concentration in publishing, and University of Missouri's manuscript, print culture, and editing track MA. Has anyone else sent applications out for publishing?

i'm enjoying my first year at grad school doing a PhD, but there are a few other schools which I applied to that I wasn't selected for. I'm hoping in my first year or two of my current program to build up my CV in order to make me a more attractive applicant at some of these better schools.

does anyone have any experience or know of anyone who has successfully applied at a different (better) school after their first year or two in another phd program? I am particularly interested in how the student went about it, as such obviously requires some diplomacy. how does one broach the subject with their advisor and other potential referees?

There are a few motivations for moving:

1) i want to put myself in the best possible position when i enter the job market. regrettably, school name and prestige is important and therefore i'd like to 'trade up' to a better school if possible.

2) cities. i would like to live in a bigger city, where i have family and friends.

3) periodization. i'm not necessarily wedded to my historical period. the school i am currently at doesn't actually accommodate the area i'm potentially interested in.

in connection with point 3, because i'm currently in a different period, I probably look like a more attractive applicant in my current period, than my proposed alternative period. based on this, do we think I would be better off applying to the other schools in my current period, then trying to transfer period if I'm accepted. or would it be better to apply as an applicant in my preferred period?

i would appreciate any advice on how to best navigate my current department, as well as advice as to how to apply as a potential applicant to a few new schools.

I'm a senior English Lit major in Baltimore. I've actually posted here before as a senior; wound up dropping out of uni for a little while because I was adrift and depressed and you get the picture. But now I'm BACK! And I know what I want to do!

I'm applying for creative nonfiction because it's where I'm strongest by far, but I want to pick up fiction while in the MFA program because I want to become a novelist but keep psyching myself out whenever I try to write a short story. I'm devoting time this summer to writing more fiction on a regular basis, but I'm nowhere near good enough to enter into an MFA program for it yet. (Ironically, I hate writing short stories but love writing books. I'm working on one right now that's actually quite good imo!)

So I'm applying to programs with concentrations in both fiction and nonfiction: Bard, Columbia, Emerson, Northeastern, and Sarah Lawrence.

My top three are Columbia, Bard, and Sarah Lawrence, respectively.

I chose them for various reasons: I thrive in the Northeast, I have a literary network in New York that I'd like to deepen and expand, Hilton Als teaches at Columbia while Teju Cole teaches at Bard, Alice Walker and Durga Chew-Bose went to Sarah Lawrence. And according to my editors and professors, I have a great chance at getting into any of them. (Then again, MFA programs really are a roll of dice, aren't they?)

My writing portfolio will be a short book of published/unpublished essays that I'm expanding and polishing for my senior thesis. It's called Cosmogyny and—forgive me, this is a rough summary because I'm still developing the prospectus so that the progression make sense—it's a bunch of personal essays/lyric-memoirs-disguised-as-longform-criticism that describe my coming-of-age as a girl, a Caribbean immigrant, and an American woman in the world. It's very inspired by Durga Chew-Bose's Too Much and Not the Mood, which inspired me to write the seminal essay "The Doomsday Diaries"...which you can actually read at full-stop.net next week!!! (It's nowhere near perfect pls.)

And I work at my university's writing center, which I heard helps gain some financial aid in graduate school.

Note: I'm not taking time between undergrad and grad school. I've experienced too much life at 21-going-on-22. I've had an abundance of jobs and lived in an abundance of places and seen an abundance of things I probably shouldn't have seen. I've had the epiphanies people have when they're 40. "Take time between undergrad and grad school" is the one thing I always hear when posting on things. I just don't think it's necessary.

So, where are you applying? What are you studying? Why? How will you cover financial aid? Let's converse!

I saw a "Fall 2016 MFA" board and thought to start another with a twist.

I'm not applying JUST yet, but I'm working on my manuscript.

Anybody else?

Rising junior, English and Philosophy major.

My CV looks pretty good, but they're mostly editorials for magazines and creative nonfiction. There's some poetry, but literally no fiction and that's what I'm applying for! But I have no idea where to publish fiction as an undergrad (outside of campus lit journals), especially in my city (Baltimore).

Also on my CV is tutoring, teaching, and editing experience (some coming up this year) and a research paper I'm working on. Plus lots of lit-centric extracurriculars and leadership positions. Probably won't add those but should I??? I dunno. Read somewhere that this stuff was relevant and I'm not sure about that but hey, shoot your shot.

I'm currently going to a state school and I'm applying to:

- Johns Hopkins University

- Iowa's Writers Workshop

- Cornell University

- Brown University

I'm only applying to fully-funded programs and I'm aiming high because, wow, that'd be a fantastic education and, wow, a Cornell degree would open some doors (and give my mom bragging rights at work, hehe). If I don't get into any of them, I'm just gonna get a day job, work on my writing, and try again in a few years. Try, try again!

Right now, my GPA sucks. It's about a B- and that might just rule out any chances at Brown or Cornell, but then again apparently MFAs don't rule you out if your GPA is a little low as long as the writing sample is legit? I dunno. Another reason why I'm here.

Ah, as far as recommendations go I have two good ones from my uni: One is a nationally-recognized essayist and alum of the Writer's Workshop, the other is a travel writer and head of my uni's creative writing program. I don't know who to choose from for the third. I have a friend/mentor currently studying poetry at Brown's MFA program so that could come in handy. I could ask my school's newspaper advisor; he'd def give a good rec but not for, like, creative writing. Err, I also have a pal at Cornell but she works for their art department. Those are my three options right now.

I'm submitting two stories. Working on them with the Iowa alum.

Err, I think that's it. I don't know what I'm doing, basically. Anybody applied to these schools? Anybody been through this process? How far are you? Any tips? Help!!

]]>67727Thu, 16 Jul 2015 03:06:18 +0000Where do you get your ideas?https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/93447-where-do-you-get-your-ideas/
Do you have an inspiration to be more creative?
]]>93447Wed, 24 May 2017 16:22:31 +0000Beat Poetry/Lit?https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/90192-beat-poetrylit/
Hey there --
I'm currently highly interested in studying spirituality and beat poetry. I have a few leads, but I'm trying to explore all options -- does anybody out there know any specific POIs I should check out?
]]>90192Mon, 20 Mar 2017 15:05:27 +0000Columbia's Curriculumhttps://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/91045-columbias-curriculum/
Hi All,

Sorry if I'm messing this up--I posted this in the 2017 thread before realizing that was nestled within this wider section of the forum:

Can anyone recommend any programs, fully-funded or not, that offer a similar curriculum to Columbia University's program? Obviously, it's no secret that Columbia is extremely expensive. Aside from some of the big name faculty members of whom I'm a huge fan, though, the main draw for me is the curriculum. They offer a wide variety of lectures, seminars, and whatnot on top of the usual workshops--and it would seem that, all told, you spend more time in the classroom than many other programs I've researched. (E.g., at NYU, it looks like you only take 8 credit hours, or two courses per semester, compared to the max of 15-18 you take at Columbia.) On top of that, there's some flexibility to take a few courses outside of the MFA program. Can anyone point me in the direction of programs that offer a similar approach? Thanks!

(realizing now after copying+pasting that this approach is pretty necessarily coupled with a light/non-existent teaching load, so I suppose that's another factor to consider.)

So I got good news for my MFA poetry applications-- I'm a Berkeley local and applied to SFSU's MFA program as well as CCA's MFA and got into both! I am having a lot of trouble figuring out what I should do. I'd appreciate as much advice as possible!

Right now I'm thinking about these things:

SFSU: is a LOT cheaper, and I'm getting a scholarship for the first semester; amazing staff; offers teaching certification included with degree; is located kind of far away so commuting will be a pain depending on how many days a week I am actually on campus [tuition is approx 7k per year]

CCA: private art school; offering me a more prestigious array of scholarships even though it will still end up more expensive than SFSU; no teaching certification; amazing campus, but i'll be surrounded by people who are mostly willing or able to dive into an insanely high tuition and idk how comfortable id feel being in that environment as a low income person of color [tuition is approx 40k per year, but i would basically be receiving 70% of my tuition covered]

I've also been traveling all month for academic events and its made it super hard to organize the pros and cons of each. Basically floundering a little!!!

I'll like to know where I could find information on life as a writer, having a writing career? For instance, say I finish a MFA and I publish my first novel through an indie publisher. I assume that most likely only my close friends will read it and find it compelling.

But then what happens? Not to be pessimistic but its unlikely that I'll be making much money. Any way, I'll like to know from you guys were I could get insights on what a career path as a novelist would look like. Or if any of you had any experiences with novelist friends.

]]>89994Thu, 16 Mar 2017 17:46:13 +0000Admittance to Schools that Don't Fully Fundhttps://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/89352-admittance-to-schools-that-dont-fully-fund/
I was debating to put this in the 'Decisions, Decisions' thread, but felt that fellow MFA-ers would have a better sense of the question I'm trying to ask and the information I think would be helpful to many.

Let's say you've been accepted into a program that does not fully fund every student; what sort of questions should one ask in regards to getting SOME sort of funding? In certain situations, I'm sure zero funding is quite possible. However, what questions should a prospective student be asking about TA-ships, GA-ships, other funding opportunities?

In regards to TA-ships, what questions should be asked about tuition remission, course loads, etc?

Please feel free to contribute more in-depth questions as I feel this conversation is a good one to have even before applying to programs. These should be questions that, those of us unable to access the creme de la creme programs, can ask to get the best idea of our individual "fit" in a program.

Currently working on my application for Fall 2017 fiction MFA programs. I'm wondering if y'all have any insight into how formal MFA personal statements ought to be. My reflex is to write something conversational. Would particularly like to hear from those who have been accepted in years past - what worked for you?

Thanks,

Justin

]]>84031Tue, 25 Oct 2016 20:18:58 +0000Programs Under the Radarhttps://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/86476-programs-under-the-radar/
Just wanted to put my two cents in here when it comes to MFA programs and funding. Of course full-funding is ideal; I wouldn't recommend going in debt for an MFA unless you have a solid plan for a job post-graduation. BUT there are a lot of programs that don't make the full-funding list, but they do fully-fund most of their students. So you have to do a bit more of your own research rather than just relying on the lists of fully-funded programs, but you can still find programs that will fully-fund you, and where you have a better chance of getting in. EWU (Eastern Washington University) is one of those. I'm advocating for them because my time in the program was so wonderful that I want them to get the attention they deserve. They really want to be able to fund everyone, but they can't just yet. They do offer funding to about 75% of the students, and there are tons of opportunities beyond just teaching comp. You could teach literature, do technical writing, manage a lit mag (Willow Springs) a small press (Willow Springs Books) run educational outreach programs and coordinate a literary festival (Get Lit!), direct the Writers in the Community program (teaching outside the university classroom) and second year MFAs have the opportunity to teach creative writing (instead of comp.) So it really is worth your time to do a bit of extra research beyond the lists. It's great to aim for those really selective programs, but smart to put some of the programs that are a bit more under the radar on your list. EWU has around an 11% acceptance rate, and it's seriously an awesome program. Spokane is a great city for writers (poets especially) and really cheap to live too. Any questions about that program let me know!
]]>86476Mon, 16 Jan 2017 18:25:33 +0000Bilingual MFA programs/Spanish speaking professorshttps://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/81948-bilingual-mfa-programsspanish-speaking-professors/
Hi! So, does anyone know of any bilingual MFA programs, or professors who advise students who write in both Spanish and English? So far I know of UTEP and UCSD, it doesn't seem like much else exists but any help would be appreciated...

Thank you!

]]>81948Thu, 04 Aug 2016 14:13:06 +0000Universities for MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry)https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/84667-universities-for-mfa-in-creative-writing-poetry/
I'm an Indian national, with a 4-year Bachelor's degree in Engineering.

I'm interested in pursuing MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry). Since funds are a major concern for me, I want the course to be a fully funded one-- financial aid starting from the first semester itself. Also, I need to maximise my chances of selection; hence, I'm looking to apply to okay to decent schools where chances of converting the application are comparatively higher than top universities which take very very few students. I know I can build from a small start.

Hence, could you please suggest (out of the confounding number of schools) a few select names which satisfy these constraints of mine?

I am really passionate about comic books and manga and I would be interested in a program that is friendly towards teaching this kind of writing. Reading some of your posts, I get the feeling that some programs are not interested in anything outside of realist fiction.